By the people who know him best & live in NJ.
You won't believe why N.H.'s top paper endorsed Christie
By Tom Moran | Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on November 30, 2015 at 3:43 PM, updated December 01, 2015 at 1:36 AM
f you haven't read the fulsome endorsement of Gov. Chris Christie from New Hampshire's most influential paper, take a minute. This could be important.
Know two things about this endorsement from the Manchester Union-Leader.
One is that it could put Christie on the map. This paper's endorsements result in an 11 point bump for the winner, on average. If history holds, that means Christie is now a contender in New Hampshire.
The second is this: The paper knows almost nothing about his record as governor.
That's harsh, I know. But I just got off the phone with the Union-Leader's editorial page editor, a very nice guy by the name of Grant Bosse.
The paper has been paying close attention to Christie's speeches in New Hampshire, and his visit to the editorial board. And that's a dangerous game when it comes to a slick character like our governor.
Take Bridgegate. The editorial made no mention of it. "It has nothing to do with the governor," Bosse says.
It's possible Christie didn't know about the lane closures or the cover-up. But this is a governor whose cabinet members don't go to the bathroom without his permission. At a minimum, these were his senior appointees.
How about pension reform? The board in Manchester did not know that Christie broke his core promise on that by skipping pension payments. "I don't know if we went into the weeds on pension reform," Bosse said.
The editorial said he "dealt admirably" with Sandy. That would come as a shock to the actual victims, 60 percent of whom say they are dissatisfied with the state's response.
On jobs, the paper saw no reason to check Christie's dismal record. "Politicians don't create jobs, so we didn't want to give that any credibility," Bosse said.
How about the nine credit downgrades on Christie's watch as governor?
"That largely stems from the fact that while he's been successful holding back tax increases, he hasn't been as successful in restraining spending. Credit agencies like taxes. They don't reward states for fiscal discipline."
Gov. Chris Christie won the endorsement from the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state's biggest newspaper and an influential voice in presidential politics for the early-voting state
Of course, Christie has line-item veto, so he can cut any money from the budget he wants. Turns out it's not as easy as they make it sound on the campaign trail.
And ratings agencies, for the record, don't care if government is big or small. Their ratings reflect the risk that bondholders won't get paid back. New Jersey has the second lowest rating in the country, and it's dropped six times on Christie's watch.
You get the idea. I hate to second-guess a fellow editorial board. But this one is national news, and the paper's publisher has been giving interviews all over the country. So they are in the game now, not just in the audience.
SEE ALSO: N.J. revenues fall below Christie projection
And this editorial confirms my worse fears about this presidential race. It's all about performance, not substance. What else could explain the fact that nearly two-thirds of Republican voters say their first choice is Donald Trump, Ben Carson, or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz?
Christie is not even paying attention to New Jersey these days, despite the bad shape we're in. Legislators and business leaders can't get their calls returned.
He's focusing on his performance. And the frightening fact is that in American politics today, that's a sensible choice.
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/11/nh_papers_christie_endorsement_is_about_performanc.html#incart_river_index
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